Should Africa Follow the European Space Governance Model for an African Space Programme?

In this paper we reconstruct the governance framework for the European space programme to provide insight into the underlying dynamics of a continental level space programme and how such a programme is implemented across national, regional and continental level boundaries. The reconstruction will be done against two key governance components, namely, strategic focus on the one hand, and operational focus on the other. This exercise provides a useful benchmark for (i) understanding the key governance issues, including the inherent strengths and weaknesses, and (ii) for consideration of an appropriate governance framework for an African space programme. Brief reflections are provided, across a few important dimensions, for consideration in the articulation of an appropriate governance framework and the fit for purpose of such a framework in strategically positioning and operationalising an African space programme. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd.